A WRONG DEECISION..

ANGRY TDs have questioned why RTE effectively excused Director General Dee Forbes from attending Oireachtas committees by asking her to resign on June 16

- LOUISE BURNE

Its Chairwoman Siun Ni Raghallaigh admitted the fact was not considered when the broadcaster asked for her to step down.

The Oireachtas Media Committee heard there was a “silo culture” in Montrose where nothing was questioned if Ms Forbes signed off on it.

During a four-and-a-half-hour meeting yesterday afternoon, a number of high-level RTE executives denied having knowledge or being involved in the agreements put in place for Ryan Tubridy. Ms Forbes was not at the meeting due to poor health.

A statement published on Tuesday stated “no member of the RTE Executive Board, other than the Director General, had all the necessary information in order to understand that the publicly declared figures for Tubridy could have been wrong”.

In response to questions from Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin, Ms Ni Raghallaigh said that the RTE Board asked Ms Forbes to resign on June 16, nearly a week before the scandal came to light.

Ms Forbes did not resign and was suspended on June 21. She tendered her resignation five days later.

Ms Ni Raghallaigh said: “When the Grant Thornton report was delivered to the Audit and Risk Committee, the [panel] made recommendations. One of those was to ask for her resignation. I did ask on Friday [June 16].”

Mr Griffin said Ms Forbes would have been “an invaluable witness” and she is now no longer answerable to the Oireachtas.

He asked: "Would you not have thought that we as an Oireachtas would want to investigate this and that the DG in situ will be someone who could give us some accountability? 

“We were told that her resignation was tendered last Monday. You accepted the resignation.